Yearly Archive: 2019

06
Aug
2019

TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF AND MAKE A CHANGE

I seem to be on a Tuesday posting streak. I just looked at my calendar and saw that, with this post, I will have posted for 5 Tuesdays in a row. But the streak stops here, because I won’t be home next Tuesday, and I probably won’t be thinking about posting, because as of 4 pm this afternoon, I’m FINALLY on vacation! Only for 1.5 weeks, but whatever, I’ll take it. I didn’t mind working all summer, and I got a lot done, especially on projects I had no time to prioritize during the first half of this year, but...

30
Jul
2019

SUMMER STUFF

It’s been borderline unbearably hot and humid here, for me, anyway. Anything over 25C and I’m wanting to move further north…though, according to one friend who lives VERY far north, it was just as hot and humid there, so maybe there is no escaping it. Today, however, though it was hot and humid throughout the first part of the day, cooled off considerably and it’s now a lovely chill temperature. Especially since I opened the front door to create a draft and now the house is under 20C for the first time in ages. It’s quite cloudy out and I...

23
Jul
2019

ANGELS AT THE IRS

Yesterday, I got an official-looking envelope in the mail. The return address was the IRS. “Uh oh,” I thought, as I opened it, and I was right. I’ve been filing my US tax returns the exact same way for 20 years and for 2018 they changed everything. All the forms (bar one) were completely different, what they asked for was different, how they asked for it was different, and I struggled really hard to figure things out. I read all the instructions. I read them several times, but most of the time I couldn’t figure out what exactly I was...

16
Jul
2019

IT’S NOT WHAT WE HAVE IN LIFE, BUT WHO WE HAVE IN IT THAT MATTERS*

How many friends do you have? How do you count them? Do you count the ones you went to school with? The ones you work with? Or the ones you used to work with? The ones you live near? The ones that are related to you? The ones that you used to hang out with but haven’t seen in years? The ones that have friended you on Facebook…or the ones you have friended? What about friends at the gym, or in the club, or at church, or at the pub? And if you’ve never actually met them in real life…but...

12
Jul
2019

I WRITE BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW WHAT I THINK UNTIL I READ WHAT I SAY*

When I get a little miffed that reading through my friends list and RSS feed takes me about 10 minutes these days, I have to stop and remember that I am part of the problem. It’s July 12 and I’ve posted only twice this month so far. This post, if it makes it up, will be third. Granted, it’s summer and and the weekend now, and everything slows down when it gets hot out, but really, that’s no excuse. If you want to read what’s out there, maybe you should be setting an example and encouraging others by writing something...

09
Jul
2019

IF THAT’S ALL THERE IS, IT’S ENOUGH

This morning, when I got into work, one of my colleagues commented, “Another day, eh?” and I responded, “Yeah. Sleeping, eating, showering, working…is that all there is?” “Pooping,” he responded. HA. True. Work’s been nicely slow the last couple of weeks, giving us some time to catch up and work on some of the projects we never have time to do. July is the month when most Swedes go on vacation, but almost my entire team is working right now, which is a little weird. I’ve been doing some of what is essentially döstädning lately. Just a little bit…a drawer...

04
Jul
2019

HONEY AND HOTDOGS AND HOLIDAYS

Two people, both complete strangers, that I’ve talked to recently on the phone, have referred to me with what I thought were rather strangely inappropriate endearments. One called me “honey” and the other repeatedly called me both “momma” and “baby girl” during our conversation. These are women who I am betting are younger than me, and even if they are American, doing this kind of thing strikes me as weirdly off. The only people I would refer to as “honey”, first of all, are my husband or my children. The only other time I would call someone “honey” is if...

27
Jun
2019

HOT ENOUGH FOR YA?

Today is cool and overcast with a pillowy, layered duvet of clouds above us but it’s still summer. It’s still warm enough for Capri pants and short sleeves but maybe not for sandals. Yesterday and the day before that, and the day before that, were HOT. Over 30C which is close to 90 in Monopoly temps. And humid, too, which made Barky completely flip out. Last year in Sweden it was hot early and May set records for sunshine and high temps. It was also a record year for forest fires, unfortunately, since there were so many days without rain....

24
Jun
2019

SWEDISH EVERY WHICH WAY

If the first part of this year is any indication…heck, if the first part of this LIFE is any indication, the rest of this year will fly by and I’ll be left gaping at the fact that it’s Christmas time YET AGAIN. I’ve been gone for 2 weeks and even though I managed to post quickly last Monday before we zoomed off again to Stockholm for a week of city and sun and Swedishness, it feels like I’ve not really had a chance to sit down and gather my thoughts here. We had a lovely week, despite some bobbles at...

17
Jun
2019

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT

I came back to Sweden in full summer swing. It’s midsummer week and everything is full-blown green and blooming here. Even the roses started exploding while I was gone. I had a simply fantastic week in Seattle. The weather was drop-dead PERFECT (though I confess I missed most of it as I was indoors all day during the week for the conference). I came out of my flight to find mom already arrived and waiting for me last Saturday and we got to the hotel just in time to find a place to eat and then unpack and relax. I...

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